The old college crew was together again, and we were catching up on major life events as old college crews tend to do. I hadn’t expected to tell the full story of my conversion, but they kept asking questions. To my knowledge, none of them are Catholic. A couple grew up in the Church, but have since left, or they have no belief system at all. After I’d spilled my story, as much as they wanted to know, a former Catholic turned to me and said, “I’d love to come to your Confirmation. Let me know when it is.”
It threw me off-guard at first, but it wasn’t the first time a non-Catholic has been supportive. In fact, most of my support—besides my sister and my sponsor—has been from non-religious friends. It’s been the former Catholics who want to attend my Confirmation or talk hours about God; one suggested I look into religious publishing when I was talking about a potential new job.
But I tell non-Catholic Christians about converting, and I get shut down. “You can’t possibly believe that stuff,” they say.
Why? Why, when we all worship the same God and only want to do His will, do we shut each other down? Why are the ones with no concrete belief system the most supportive of my finding Him?
Maybe they’re seeking their own belief systems. Maybe they’ve found something that works for them after years of searching. Maybe they see a kindred spirit, someone who simply wants to find the Truth, and rejoices because they recognize the journey. Even if our journeys are not the same, and didn’t end up in the same place, they understand the need for it.
Or maybe it’s just being a good friend. A good human being. It’s adopting those Christ-like qualities without being a follower of Christ. I’ve heard it said that atheists are the “better people,” because they aren’t good because God told them to be. They’re not trying to impress Jesus. They’re displaying goodness and love for the sake of displaying goodness and love, and not for some kind of divine reward.
Sometimes, Christians get stale. We grow up knowing God, and we take Him for granted. Christians will often not search any further than what their Church or their family teaches them. So when someone goes out to learn the Truth, they don’t get it. “You have everything you need. Why are you making it so complicated?” But there’s always more to discover, and more to learn, and sometimes those discoveries lead us away from the belief system we’ve grown up with.
Don’t shut each other down. We’re all searching for God. We may not all find Him in the same way.
